Subaru remote keys

I am about to order my 5th remote, including the two that came with my
'07 OBS. They have all failed the same way. A tiny switch that unlocks

the car is held in place by nothing except four solder pads.
I don't think I'm putting a lot of pressure on the unlocking switch, and
the locking switch hasn't had any problem.
The dealer was getting $100 plus $40 for programming it. Now the price
is $140 plus $45.
Has anyone else had this problem?
David

Five remotes over what period of time? In the last couple of months,
the last year, the last couple of years, or on average once per year
ever since you got the '07 (which presumably you acquired in that year
and didn't buy used a week ago)? If fobs were surviving for the first 4
years and all the failures appeared in the last year, my guess is there
is some physical abuse they are encountering that they didn't before.

But what you don't mention is why you believe or how you found the PCB
or switch was damaged because it only has 4 solder pads. Just what
leads you to believe the switch or PCB are damaged or the solder joints
got fractured? For fractured solder joints, just resolder.
Have you ever looked inside your computer's mouse to notice how it is
affixed to the PCB within? Yep, the soldering is the only physical
means of affixing the switch to the PCB.

So you're saying the PCB (onto which the switch is soldered) is getting
damaged? You sure you aren't sitting on the remote fob?

Maybe this will work:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5019668_reprogram-car-remote.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_7425495_reset-car-remote.html
The 2nd article mentions reading the owner's manual on how it says to
reset the remote fob for your vehicle. Did you look in there to see if
they describe how to reset the remote control? Also found:
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/interior-mods/66863-subaru-keyless-remote-programming-instructions.html
http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html
So reprogram it yourself. Then see if you can buy a Subaru remote fob
from elsewhere for cheaper.
http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=remote&x=0&y=0
Listed there at $59 for the Outback remote fob.

I still have the same remote fobs that came with my 2003 and 2005
Legacies. Have had to replace the battery within, though. You never
mentioned if you tried replacing the battery and retesting.

When the fob failed, I opened the fob, that switch was loose. If I
nudged it back into place and reassembled the fob very carefully, it
would work for a while, but eventually that didn't work anymore. The
solder joints are under the switch and are about .5mm square(.02"), far
smaller than any soldering I've ever done and not accessible anyway. I
tried a tiny bit of superglue to thy to hold it in place, but that
didn't work.

Yes, I used to repair mice like that sometimes until mice got cheap and
my time became more valuable(to me, anyway).

PCB seems fine, the switch just comes loose. I don't keep the fob where
it would be exposed to damage.

I once spent about 45 minutes trying to program a fob I got online,
using the instructions that came with it. These instructions were
similar to others I found online. I never got it programmed, so I bought
another new one at the dealer and had him program both.

http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/interior-mods/66863-subaru-keyless-remote-programming-instructions.html
See above. Have you ever programmed one?

http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=remote&x=0&y=0
That's not the same remote, mine isn't shown. Searching the site for
"keyless remote Impreza 2007" got no hits.

Superglue works best when in a thin layer, not in filling gaps or as an
external bonding caulk. It may look like you are just squeezing out a
single bonder from the tube, superglue is activated by water (from the
air or microscopic dew on surfaces). A thick layer won't last and may
not even set properly. If using gel superglue, the surfaces must lie
close for the water to get absorbed throughout the layer to act as the
hardener. Huffing on the surfaces (as if to fog them with your breath)
helps the hardening and why a thicker coating results in a poorer bond
or incomplete hardening.
Epoxy would better (where you actually have seperate bonder and
hardener, mix the two, and have to apply to cleaned surfaces a short
time after mixing); however, the broken solder joints would have to be
repaired first (or you do the epoxy bonding before the solder joints
break as a preemptive repair by reinforcing the physical positioning).
I don't if it will work with the plastic or phenolics used for the PCB
or the switch housing but I've used JB Weld steel reinforced epoxy and
it indeed turns as hard as steel when it hardens. If it does bond to
the PCB and case housing, you'll end up ripping those apart before
breaking the epoxy. This is like using Hard As Nails epoxy to bond a
wood 2x4 to a concrete wall: you'll splinter the wood rather than the
bond between it and the wall.

I didn't list all sites supplying Subaru parts. I picked one that I
happen to have bookmarked as just an example showing you can get parts
other than from the Subaru dealer and pay his severe markup.
http://www.google.com/search?q=subaru+impreza+2007+remote
which found:
http://www.keylessremotesonline.com/2007-Subaru-Impreza-Keyless-Entry-Remote-NHVWB1U711-07-LUP.htm
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw +2007+SUBARU+IMPREZA+KEY+KEYLESS+ENTRY+REMOTE
and more
The ones that I saw listed there looked like the one at:
http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/product_info.php?products_id 2
So there were no instructions in the manual that came with car on how to
reset the remote? I found user manuals are available at:
http://www.subaru.com/owners/resource-center/owners-manuals/index.html
Yep, page 2-10 describes how to program the remote. Another site (this
time with Impreza instructions):
http://www.ehow.com/how_5426181_reprogram-keys-subaru-impreza-cars.html
Subaru's manual mentions "A label showing the code is affixed to the bag
containing the transmitter, and another is affixed to the circuit board
inside the transmitter." and the second article mentions the need for
the serial number, too. Seems critical the procedure involves the
serial number.

I usually google 2007 Subaru Impreza keyless remote.
Mine looks like this:
<http://www.carandtruckremotes.com/2007-subaru-impreza-remote.html
Most of what I find has a trunk release and panic button which are not
on mine.

http://www.keylessremotesonline.com/2007-Subaru-Impreza-Keyless-Entry-Remote-NHVWB1U711-07-LUP.htm
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw +2007+SUBARU+IMPREZA+KEY+KEYLESS+ENTRY+REMOTE
Unfortunately, there is no way to tell if the number sequence entered
registered, other than failure of the remote to work. I followed the
procedure several times with no success.
Have you programed a remote? Do you know of someone who has?
David

You're supposed to hear a beep upon each successful programming step
according to your manual's instructions.

Apparently you haven't because it has failed every attempt according to
you. Considering the timing of your replies after mine, I'm not sure
that you even tried to do the programming AFTER you started this thread.
I've done it just once but for a 2005 Legacy. The reset worked. That
was about 3 years ago and I don't remember whose procedure that I used.
I figured the right manual for your car would have the right
instructions providing you were programing the right remote and you
followed the instructions correctly. If the manual's instructions
aren't working for you then I suspect you are doing them wrong, like
taking too long between each programming step, or you're using the wrong
remote (since you say it doesn't match those shown for your car). Did
you even get the beep after the initial 10-time flipping the ignition
switch from Lock to On within 15 seconds? Did you hear any beeps after
any step in the many described in the manual? Considering all the
setup, steps, and indicators involved, you should write down a checklist
along with the timeouts for each step to make sure you do them in order
and get the indicators specified and you complete the steps within time.
For now, looks like you'll have to pay someone else to do the job. Now
you have to figure out how to keep from physically breaking the thing.
I'd suggest changing from pressing with the fingertip to pressing with
the fleshy flat part of the finger (thumb) so some of the pressure is
also against the case and you're more likely to be pressing straight in
on the button instead of at an angle. You might also want to get a
velvet pouch with pull cord or a coin purse (split plastic pouch) in
which to carry the remote to cushion it during carry. Don't hang it
from your belt as that gets it banged into everything. If you wear
shirts with pockets, put the remote in there. If you have to carry the
remote in a pants pocket (a front one only) and with no protection then
make sure there's nothing else in that pocket, like a cell phone, and
face the buttons inward to press against your thigh instead of outward
to get pressed by anything you press into.

http://techinfo.subaru.com/proxy/69501/pdf/ownerManual/069501_2007_ImprezaWRXSTi/MSA5M0701A_9.pdf
Programming remotes to cars would make stealing them too easy. :-)
It's bad enough that there are stories of people being able to unlock and
even start the wrong car by accident using these things, but the cost of
replacing the various electronic gizmos is ridiculous and really just a
con by the car companies.
Technology for the sake of it isn't progress, nor is technology for the
sake of sheer laziness. Bring back the good old fashioned key (although
even replacing those was expensive for the likes of Mercedes, etc).
The housing suburb we live in was all built by the same company, so uses
the same supplier for things like garage doors - initially we had issues
of the door opening "by itself" because someone else too nearby had the
same code for their door and remote ... and the same remote also controls
the house alarm!! All a criminal has to do is drive around a neighbourhood
pressing the remote until they find a house where it works. :-(

Do you have any specialist computer repair shops locally? From what you
describe the repair would be a few minutes work for anybody having a
hot-air rework station and a bit of experience. Once the solder is in order
a dab of epoxy will hold the switch to the PCB so it doesn't shift and
strain the solder joints again.

That's a good idea, I know a computer tech who can do repairs on
multilayer motherboards, I'll show him a dead remote and see what he
thinks. A drop of epoxy to hold the switch on my single working one
might help it live longer.
David

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